Witch Tripper, Lifer and Beneath The Divine at Aunty Als, The White Lion, Chepstow
As the hottest week in living memory dripped into the weekend, this free gig put on by the excellent people at Rock N’ Roll Circus homed welcomingly into view. Train tickets purchased, we joined the throngs of Hawaiian shirt clad race goers travelling to Chepstow Races; so many in those shirts that we questioned whether it was in fact a covert Cannibal Corpse show. No such luck, but we did ace it with a few pre-gig pints and meal at the stunning Boat Inn, overlooking the Wye. It was the Wye Valley Brewery that started our evening in fine style too, with the HPA and Butty Bach in fine form.
Tucked off Bank Street, the White Lion was busy with a mix of evening drinkers, metalheads and locals when we arrived. Final sound checks were being completed and a quick chat with the headliners, the mighty Witch Tripper, surely the hardest working band in the UK now. Always good to catch up with the band, their set was to be a thing of beauty later in the evening.
First up though, the local stoner bruisers Beneath The Divine (8) who were simply storming. Some of the reviewers for the blog have seen these boys before but for Mrs H and me this was a first viewing, but unlikely to be the last. Improving as the set wore on, the four-piece play a bluesy stoner style with a thunderous back beat. With the Sabbath riffage cranked out to 11 courtesy of guitarist Kev, it was vocalist Jason who took centre stage, his energetic style and soulful delivery catching the attention. Tracks from their excellent The Wicked Resurrection sound even better live. Their pulverising sledgehammer sound meeting nods of approval from around the room and the visiting headliners. Kev’s guitar sound was superb, allowing him to cut the air with a real clarity whilst the rhythm was nailed by drummer Barney and bassist Tim. Sometimes you really enjoy old school metal and Beneath The Divine deliver that with classy aplomb.
A quick refill of the glass and it was South Wales answer to the NOLA sound in Lifer (7) who stepped up, clicked that spine straight and proceeded to level the venue in the way only these brutes can. A strong, bullish set from a band now approaching veteran status, Lifer know what they do and do it very well. It’s aggressive, it’s in your face and it is sludgy heavy goodness rolled up in a curled-up fist which strikes hard and relentlessly. Vocalist Scriv snarls and roars, guitarist Web pulls riffs out the sky and the battery from drummer Shaun and bassist Simon is merciless. Although Lifer’s sound was slightly muddier than Beneath the Divine, they tore through their set with punk-infused stoner gusto. Music to drink beer to. That’s for sure.
It's unusual to see Witch Tripper (9) without the sweat pouring off Richie Barlow and Chris Stoff Daughton and tonight was no exception. It’s only been a few weeks since we saw the band kicking a hole in the Gryphon’s floor but there is never anything other than 100% high octane energy from the Notts lads. A raucous set with tracks from both albums including White Lines, Chills To The Bone and blistering set closer Attitude Adjustment are all comfortably ensconced in the set and with the number of miles and gigs these guys out in they rarely miss a beat. Barlow and Stoff never stop moving, whilst Gary Eric Evans is now comfortably part of the furniture and makes the difficult moves look easy. Groove based hard rock and metal is their business, and in my opinion, there is no-one better in the business these days than this power trio. I’ve said before that they are a true force in the UK hard rock and metal scene, and I for one cannot wait to see them get the reception they deserve at Bloodstock 2019.
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